Promise Kept
by AuntieFae
Summary: A sequel to the story Promise Made.  I had hoped it would be a one shot as well, but as it turns out, the Muse wants a bit more.  Uncas has kept his promise to Alice and saved her from Magua.  But can she be saved from herself?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This was intended as a one shot follow up to _Promise Made_. Apparently, the Muse wanted to play a bit more, and make this at least 2 chapters. So please, read and enjoy.**

**And, of course, I own nothing at all.**

Even in the dark, when she closed her eyes to sleep, all Alice would see was memories of massacres and war. Even when it was quiet, all she would hear were the guns and the screaming. All she would smell was blood, smoke, and death. She knew that even when Cora had put her arm her shoulders and lead her down the path along the cliff. She knew that even when Chingachgook took the lead and Nathaniel followed with his own arm supporting his badly wounded brother. Uncas. He was alive, he had come for her. Alice dimly realized that he had kept the promise he made at the fort. She would have cried out of joy, out of horror of what she had just seen, but it felt as if she had forgotten how. Move forward, stay close to Cora. That was all that seemed to make sense.

Evening seemed to come early. The sky darkened and the air changed. Cora looked to the sky above and frowned. They would need shelter, and from the looks of it, soon. Alice barely noticed. She could barely feel. The earth could shake and she wouldn't notice. It was with complete disinterest that she heard Nathaniel call to his father in Mohican. She watched with complete indifference as Cora helped Natheniel set up something resembling shelter. Alice blindly followed when Cora beckoned her inside and sharply said, "Alice."

_Empty,_ she thought. _I'm empty. There's nothing inside of me._

If only she could feel.

Uncas felt more exhausted than injuried. Even when Cora had taken stock of his wounds, she was shocked that they weren't as bad as they seemed. His arm was the only injury that would need further care.

"I wouldn't use it," Cora instructed, tearing one last strip of cloth off her underskirt. "Rest it for a while. In a few days I will see about it and what needs to happen with it."

Uncas only nodded glanced toward Alice, who was caught between dozing and looking vague. Cora bit the inside of her cheeked and frowned again.

"And Uncas?" Cora sounded hesitant. Uncas looked at her warily. "My sister...Normally, this would be a conversation a father might have with a young man interested in his daughter. But...our father is dead, so it has to be me. Alice is fragile; she has been since the fever she had as a child that had also taken our mother. She is not best suited to this life, to any life that isn't the one she was raised to live. I should send her back to Albany, or to London, but there isn't much for her to return to. I am her only remaining family, so please...don't promise her anything you don't know you can give her. Do we have an understanding on this?

"Yes, we have an understanding," Uncas replied. Cora nodded tersely and turned her attention back to her sister. _Don't promise her...don't promise her..._They were Nathaniel's words. He wondered if Nathaniel and Cora had discussed his attitude toward Alice when he wasn't in earshot. He pushed the thought away. They were a sister's thoughts; he would have thought the same. But he _had_ promised. Promised to protect her, promised to care for her. Somewhere in between loosing those damned horses on the George Road and that hellish fort, he and Alice and forged a bond. He would spend the rest of his life devoted to her wellbeing.

If only she could feel.

It was faint at first, but it was there. The low thud of thunder, followed by a quick flash of lightning. Uncas counted heartbeats until the next rumble. It was nearer, louder; the lightning flash was brighter, almost as bright as day. Alice and Cora had both fallen asleep long before the first roll of thunder. Nathaniel was keeping watch. Chingachgook just lightly dozing. Uncas couldn't sleep, he was restless. So he watched Alice sleep, and counted heartbeats in between flashes of lightning and rumbles of thunder as the storm neared.

Alice stirred and made a small noise. The next thunder rumble was as loud as Uncas remembered the canons at William Henry being. The lightning brighter than the summer day. In that instant, Alice was bolt upright and awake. She clamped her hands over her ears in during the next rumble.

"No, stop" she whispered. The storm was on top of them. Alice was mouthing the words "no, stop" over and over. The thunder crashed again in a deafening roar. Rain pounded down through the trees surrounding them, wind whipping through the makeshift shelter. Alice was on her feet before it stopped, her eyes wide in terror, in panic, her hands still over her ears. Uncas was on his feet just as quickly. She had to run, get away. The war was still all around her, it wasn't safe here. She screamed and started to flee from the camp. Uncas made to stop her, but she only hit and pushed him away, too frightened and panicked to realize it was him. If she could run away from the sounds, from the smells, she could away from this hellish place. So she ran into the dark. Uncas followed.

Cora had awakened when Alice started screaming. Alice had been sheltered for most of her life, she hadn't experienced the world the way Cora had. Seeing this war no doubt had terrified her more than it had Cora, though even she had had nightmares the first time she had been with her father on campaign in Austria. She didn't blame Alice for it in the least. It was in the bright lightning that Cora even saw Alice and fled the camp, as if fleeing from the war in fear of her life.

"Alice!" she shouted, making to go after her sister when Nathaniel stopped her.

"Uncas is already out there after her. No sense losing all three of you in this. My brother will bring her back."


	2. Chapter 2

Alice could just barely see where she was running. Rain and wind were slapping back the branches she pushed out of her path. The faster she ran, the louder the thunder seemed to come. Mud splattered on her skirt, making it heavier with each step. Alice could no longer tell which drops on her face were tears, and which were rain. Not that it mattered much to her at all, it was all the same. Another crack of thunder sent her stumbling over a tree root and she slipped down the side of a muddy ravine wall. There was already a rushing stream of water at the bottom.

_Good,_ she thought, _maybe I'll drown. And then this nightmare will be over and I'll wake up._

Chasing after a frightened girl in the night would have been bad enough, but the storm made it worse. In good weather, even in the dark, Uncas could have followed her footprints. As it was, he had to rely on the intermittent lightning streaks to light the way. He saw her slip down the side of a shallow ravine, but did not see her come back up. Uncas ran faster. He knew in a storm like this, so rare this late in the summer, even small streams could flood dangersouly. He slid down the embankment easily. He found Alice at the bottom, simply kneeling in the swollen stream. It seemed as if she were waiting for the water to wash her away as it rushed over her knees and around her waist.

As another thunder clap sounded, further away now, and she looked up in terror. She stared at him, almost without seeing him. Alice let out another scream as she scrambled backwards. Uncas reached out for her, but she batted his arms away from her. It only caused her to stumble backwards, tripping over her sodden skirts. She landed hard on her side in the cold stream. He reached for her again, but she had reached out for a loose rock and swung it blindly. Uncas was able to dodge it easily. He reached out for her again and took her firmly by the shoulders.

"Alice! Stop! Alice!"

Somewhere in Alice's memory the voice calling her name made her stop. The hands on her shoulders were familiar. It seemed to knock the panic and fight out of her. Instead, she clutched at his shirt and seemed to collapse into his arms. She looked up into his eyes, and with cold wet fingers, felt along his jaw.

"You're real. You came for me. You're real," she said, barely above a whisper. Uncas had to strain to hear her above the distant thunder. Even then, much of his concentration was taken away by her eyes. Even in the dark, they were luminous. And, just as he had that night at the fort, he brushed hair away from her face.

"Of course. Always. I promised to come. I always will Alice. I want to have you near me even when I'm too old to see."

"Why? I don't...I don't know how to live this life. All I know is in England or in Boston."

Uncas took her hands and placed them over his chest where she could feel his heartbeat.

"Because this beats for you."

Alice stared at the broad chest where Uncas held her hands. If she agreed to stay, she would come to him with nothing but herself. He was offering her his whole world. If she didn't agree, she would always wonder. Either way, she knew in her heart that returning to London, or even Albany, wasn't a real option. She looked up into Uncas' questioning eyes. Slowly, she entwined her fingers with his. It seemed to her that they fit perfectly together.

"Then have me near you, even when you are too old to see."

Dawn broke late and golden the next day. After the storm the night before, the world smelled clean. Uncas unwillingly opened his eyes and stared up at the sky. After returning the night before with Alice, nothing had been decided. He knew that someone-Cora, Nathaniel, perhaps his own father-would bring up the subject of what to do going forward. And he dreaded it. Alice was still asleep, curled up beside her sister, who was already awake and quietly going through supplies with Chingachgook. Uncas slowly sat up, wincing at the mild pain in his arm. Nathaniel looked up from the small fire he had built to dry out what they could and to cook some small game for breakfast. He hesitated before speaking to his brother.

"I thought I told you not to make her any promises you can't keep. And I expect Cora told you the same thing."

"I didn't make any promises I can't keep. You know me better."

"I do," Nathaniel agreed. Then he grinned. "Still, if you can change her sister's mind, I wish you luck with that. Cora is formidable."

Uncas was relieved. Whatever reservations his brother had, they were only in his best interests. But Nathaniel was right. Uncas watched as Cora gently shook Alice awake. Cora was a force to be reckoned with and she wouldn't make anything easy.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hey all, sorry it's been a few months since I updated the story. The Muse has been misbehaving and work has been trying to take over my life. But I have put the Muse back in it's place and work has been beaten back. At least for the time being. I do plan on one more chapter to this, or at least an epilogue. I haven't decided yet, but I do have a few ideas rolling around in my head. Any how, read, enjoy, review! :)**

The cool dawn gave way to an almost unbearable heat. Alice couldn't remember the last time she had been so uncomfortably hot. Was it a week ago, back at the fort? Or was it a decade ago when she had taken ill with fever? It all blurred in her mind. Even the previous night, in the storm, felt unreal. She wondered if Uncas coming for her was real. If only they could stop for a moment, she needed to think. But Nathaniel kept the small party moving, stopping only to refill water skins when Chingachgook insisted. Cora had questioned the decision, but Nathaniel had reasoned that even with Magua dead, what few followers he had that survived could very well make for more trouble. The more distance covered in the next day or two was important he had said. Cora had reluctantly agreed to that, and kept a close eye on Alice. But she needed to stop, to think, to stop thinking.

Alice lagged behind. It felt like every part of her ached with every step. If it hadn't been for Uncas' watchful eye and hand, she might have lagged and simply drifted away. She could vaguely hear her sister arguing softly with Nathaniel, and saw her glance backward. Alice stared back at Cora, seeing her and not seeing her. Cora turned back to Nathaniel, but the usual silence descended back to the small group. It wasn't until when they stopped at nightfall when they stopped that Cora's argument with Nathaniel resumed. Alice huddled against a tree, with Uncas not far away, staring off at nothing when hearing her name made her look up and over at her sister.

"Alice should go back to London. Or at least Albany. I've already told Uncas as much."

Alice saw Natheniel start to reply, but she cut him off. "And do what exactly Cora? Go back to having tea and dinner parties? Tell people what a lovely time I had in the middle of a war, as if we had only gone on holiday to Bath? Or do you think the truth will do in polite company?"

She hadn't meant to sound so rude, but she was so tired. Tired of being treated as if she were a child, as if she were ignorant. Tired of the war. Tired of everything. Cora turned to her, her eyes wide in astonishment at Alice's interruption.

"Alice, I only meant-"

"You only meant the best. I know. You always mean for the best Cora," Alice interrupted. "Even if it means treating me like an ignorant child. And in any case, what is there to go back to? Our father is dead, Duncan is dead, and if you stay here, you may as well be dead for all people at home will care. Even the most understanding among them would rather you were dead. And I should be."

It was such a bleak and unexpected statement from Alice, that Cora had been silenced. Cora frowned slightly, taking in the change in her younger sister. There was a depth to her hazel eyes that Cora hadn't noticed before, as if Alice had aged years in the last few weeks. A few weeks ago, Alice had been just beyond girlhood, still the darling of her father. Now she could see that Alice was a woman, forced to face the harsh realities that life could offer much too quickly.

"Your sister is right. No one in your proper English society would understand. And you are the only family she has left Cora." Nathaniel's defense of Alice's outburst had surprised even himself. He and Cora had both told Uncas to not make her any promises that he couldn't keep, but it wasn't fair to him or to Alice to not make the same demands of himself and Cora. Cora only felt exasperated and threw her hands up in frustration. She knew Nathaniel was right; she knew her sister was right. If she were to be honest with herself, much as she thought Alice should go back, she wanted Alice close to her just as much. Cora drew in a long, deep breath. Alice expected her sister to argue the point. But her sister's response was more baffling than Nathaniel's defense. Cora tilted her head at her sister, smiled, and held out her hand to Alice.

"It would seem that I've been bested by you Alice. I do always intend for the best, but perhaps I have been wrong in this. I want you settled is all, all things considered," she said. Cora turned her attention to Uncas, who had been silent and at Alice's side, as was usual. "But I did mean it last night Uncas. The first promise to her you break, so help me God, it will be the last thing you ever do."

Alice snorted, but smiled. Though only four years her senior, Cora had been everything to Alice when they were children—mother, father, sister, protector. Now as women, nothing had changed. Only that now she saw Cora's willingness to send her back to English society had been a willingness born of fear for her well being.

Uncas nodded. He understood the intent in Cora's words. He would have said much the same thing in regards to Nathaniel. He glanced over at Chingachgook, who had kept himself out of the discussion, probably on purpose. Chingachgook locked eyes with his son, and ever so slightly, nodded. While he may have preferred his son take a Delaware girl as a wife, he saw that the younger Munro sister was better suited to him. Chingachgook had watched his son with her, and had been proud of his son. From what little he knew of the English and their ways, he knew that even they would have difficulty finding a man as attentive to his woman as Uncas was to Alice. It was a good thing to see.

"There will be no promises broken."


	4. Chapter 4

Alice had lost track of the days. She tried to remember the last time she had noted what day it was. It must have been in Albany, the day she, Cora, and Duncan had left for Fort William Henry. She couldn't remember what day that had been, though it had only been a few weeks ago. She must have stopped counting the days at the fort. Time had just stopped being quite so important. It was towards midday when the group stopped at a fast moving river to refill water skins that she realized she hadn't asked how Duncan had died. There hadn't been any time.

"What happened to Duncan Cora?" The question was so sudden that Cora nearly lost the water skin she had been filling. She shared a swift look with Nathaniel, who for a moment looked almost guilty.

"They were burning him when Nathaniel and I left the village. We could hear him screaming from the rise above the village. So Nathaniel shot him so that he wouldn't suffer," Cora replied after a moment's hesitation.

Alice nodded. She felt no great loss about it, no sorrow. Duncan had changed over the last few weeks. He had become cold, distant, almost a stranger.

"Thank you. For being honest Cora."

Alice's gaze drifted over the river, watching it rush past her. Time had simply slipped away.

It became an unspoken agreement among the five of them that they would be avoiding any British held forts. If any survivors of William Henry and the massacre that followed had managed to make it to Fort Edward, surely word about the militia's abandonment of the fort and Nathaniel's involvement would be well known. He would still be hung. The French would not be any more accommodating. Summer would be over in a month or two; winter came quickly in the northeastern mountains of America. It was mid-September, or so Alice had guessed since leaves were just beginning to turn and the nights were cooler, that they came upon the Cameron's cabin again.

Though she couldn't remember how long ago exactly it had been since they had last been there, Alice remembered the day well. She had been appalled and horrified and had nearly been sick. It was still strangely quiet and empty here, but the lingering scent of fire and death was no longer there. Alice felt dizzy and ill and clung to a fence post before venturing any further.

"Alice?" Cora's voice. It held a note of concern and confusion. It had been days since her last terrified outburst, two weeks at least since she had run out into a thunderstorm. Every night since then, if she wasn't at Cora's side, she was curled up against Uncas. Alice looked up at her sister.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. I just...I don't know. I'm fine," Alice said. She shook her head, but she could feel panic rising. Cora was still staring at her with a frown. "Oh, don't look at me like that. I'm fine."

Uncas was at her side then, laying a hand on her elbow. His eyes held the same question her sister had. Alice simply shook her head again and clung closer to the fence post. She felt rooted to the spot, she didn't want to go any closer to the remains of the house that still stood. Her eyes darted quickly to the surrounding trees, afraid to see another war party surge out of them. It had happened before. Uncas looked first to his father and then to Cora and Nathaniel.

"Go on, I will stay here with Alice." Uncas gently pried Alice away from the fence post and gathered her into his arms as the others drifted towards the house. As she had the night of the storm, Alice clung to his chest.

"I'm afraid they'll come back. They'll do to us what they did to your friends here." There was no question who "they" were. The war parties that had seemingly come from nowhere. Uncas ghosted a kiss on her sun warmed hair and turned her face up to him. Alice's eyes were swimming in unshed tears.

"No, no they won't. They're far north of here. And I wouldn't let any of them hurt you. I love you, and I protect what I love," he told her. Alice nodded as tears trickled down her face. She buried her head into his shirt and started sobbing.

Time had stopped slipping away. Tuesday, it was a Tuesday the day they left Albany. Her father died on a Wednesday. Duncan died on a Monday. Alice was suddenly aware that the day they first found the cabin on a Tuesday, the day they left Albany. And today was a Tuesday. And it was a Tuesday that she knew that the safest place she could ever be was wherever she could stand and be wrapped in Uncas' arms.


	5. Chapter 5

It seemed strange to Uncas to be back at the Cameron's homestead. The last two memories he had of this place were completely opposite from each other, and coming back to it now, when it was so empty and quiet, felt odd. The strangest part of those memories were what Alexandra had said that last, perfect night. _"Why is Uncas with you? He should settled with a woman, started a family by now."_ As he walked down the field toward the Cameron's old home, one arm around a woman's waist, he smiled. Alice may be unused to life on the frontier, unused to the dangers, but he had the feeling that Alexandra would have approved of this woman. He would've continued with his reverie, but Alice's voice pulled him out of it.

"I don't know how to do any of this," she said staring up at the cabin.

"Do any of what?"

"Any of...this, living out here," she told him. "My whole life revolved around afternoon tea, learning the harpsichord, doing embroidery. I wasn't prepared for any of this."

She looked up with anxiety filling her large hazel eyes. A smile started playing about his own mouth.

"I don't how to have a life with a woman permanetly in it. But I think we can manage," he said.

"Really, do you think so?"

He looked down at her face, and for the first time, he thought he could see something in her eyes resembling hope.

"Yes, I do. Maybe even afternoon tea."

Alice smiled. He had yet to see her truly, hopefully happy. That one smile had made everything worth it. It made him fall in love with her all over again. In an instant, she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. And then she pulled back, looking up at him with a smile.

"I think I could do without tea if I could be with you."

"Then with or without tea, we can manage. I promise," Uncas replied. He kissed her again and took her hand. "Let's go home."

Summer faded slowly, the warmth holding on until the beginning of October. It was enough time to build the house back up, with plans for another in the spring down the hill. Cora had inisted to Nathaniel about their own home day and night until she got her way and he agreed. Uncas had smiled and rolled his eyes at his brother the night he did, knowing that Nathaniel was settling down with the more hot tempered Munro sister. Alice had had been sitting at the fireplace that night, finishing a shirt for Chingachgook, and she had only smile at Nathaniel's eventual agreement. As stubborn as he was, Alice knew he was done for since her sister was just as stubborn and hot tempered. She almost felt sorry for her brother-in-law, but she knew they were happy. Just as she and Uncas were, even if they couldn't have the church wedding she had always imagined she would have. She had worried about the impropriety of the two of them sharing a bed together until his father had told her that among his own people, the intention to share a home made a marriage. And so, she and Uncas were married.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** I am so, so sorry about the really long wait for something new on this story. Life was a little busy, and I was working on other projects. But while I was thinking about this story, I wrote "A Sister's thoughts." Which brought me back to this story. So here we are, Chapter 5. I hope that it was worth the wait. There WILL be a Chapter 6. I was going to make into one big chapter, but as I was writing it, it felt weird, so I'm splitting it up. I'm not sure if Chapter 6 will be the last one or not. I'm going away on vacation tomorrow, and I'll be gone for a week, so it'll be a while before the next chapter goes up. But I promise, it won't be a year wait for it! So here's hoping the rest of the world (and the Muse, of course) let's me make good on that promise.


	6. Chapter 6

**Late November**

Winter seemed to come earlier in the colonies. There was no sense of anticipation, no waiting like there was in England. One night, Alice went to sleep thinking that the crisp days would last a bit longer and there would still be time for finding any late apples. The next morning's layer of frost ended her hope of finding any. In the back of her mind, Alice knew she could eat every apple that she and Cora had stored away since the beginning of the fall. When she had taken a last apple before sleeping for the night, Cora had raised an eyebrow. Alice had merely smiled and took a bite before climbing the ladder to the loft she and Uncas shared.

The next day, Alice woke thinking of apples and Uncas. She stretched her arms over her head, blinking in the day light the seeped through the papered over window. She ran her hand over the empty pillow next to her head. Uncas had gone with Schuylerville with Nathaniel. _Today. __No more wait__ing__.__ He's coming home today because he __promised __only two weeks away. __I do hope he brings more apples..._ The apple she had taken the previous night still sat on the window sill, half eaten. She had started to finish it before sleeping, but the sudden thought of not being able to stand another apple had stopped her hand halfway to her mouth. Looking at it now, Alice hoped to God that she would be able to sneak it in her pocket and take it out back to give to one of the horses. As she bent under the bed for her shoes, a wave of nausea hit her, and she bolted down the ladder and out the door to be sick, one shoe still in her hand. She was vaguely aware that Cora stared after her with breakfast in her hand.

"Alice?" Cora's voice questioned her from the table as her sister rushed passed her. As she stared at the open door and back at the food still in her hands, her eyebrows rose. Alice was hunched over the railing of the porch, still heaving and panting. The shoe she had had was on the porch, forgotten until Alice could think about anything other than emptying her stomach.

"This is the third time this week Alice. What's the matter?" Cora said quietly as she patted a damp cloth on the younger woman's neck. Alice leaned into the cloth's soothing coolness. Still breathing heavily, she wiped the back of her hand across her mouth and glanced up at her older sister. She leaned against the railing and stared out at the horse pasture.

"Cora? I think I'm with child." Alice's gaze didn't leave the horse pasture until she felt Cora's arm slip around her waist.

"Are you sure?" Cora asked, smoothing loose strands behind her sister's ear. When Alice nodded, Cora smiled. "Then I suppose the apple is for the horse?"

Alice laughed. "Yes. I couldn't stand to look at another one, better it goes to the horse instead of to waste."

"Go give it to the horse. Then come back inside, go back to bed. I can handle the house while you rest."

...

Uncas shifted his rifle ever so slightly to his left. If the turkey would just move from the behind the boulder, the shot would be easy. After two weeks of jerky and water, the idea of eating fresh game made his mouth water. The bird inched away from it's hiding place. _CRACK_. The smoke from the gun cleared, and he smiled. Uncas would be bringing fowl home for his wife, as well as the goods for the winter.

It was nearly sunset by the time to two men reached the cabin. The mare that had been left home nickered and walked up to its side of the fence as they approached. Normally, Uncas would have stopped and lingered with the horse. But it was too cold, and he was just as eager to get to the cabin, if not more so, as his brother. The morning's layer of frost never really melted off. The mare snorted at his back, and for a moment, Uncas thought it might have been in annoyance. But something distracted him from the horse. Nothing was wrong, the sound of Cora's and Chingachgook's voices drifted down from the cabin. Then he realized...Alice wasn't waiting impatiently in the doorway. Even when he was gone for a day or so, she was always there. Unless something was wrong. He was barely inside the door, dropping his travel bag on the floor. He dropped it so suddenly that the noise made Nathaniel jump and Cora nearly drop a dish.

"Where's Alice?"

"She's up in the loft. Lying down," Cora replied after she recovered herself. A smile twitched at the corners of her mouth. "Go up, she's been expecting you all day."

**A/N: This chapter has been making me crazy! I've been writing and rewriting this chapter since August. And then I was suffering a bout of life and I've been spending weeks rewriting. So here is the newest chapter. **

**This is becoming quite the beast. So...possibly 1 more chapter. I keep saying that, and I'm starting to wonder if I know what that means. But thank you all for your patience, your reading, and the reviews!**


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